Early Morning in Ikebukuro
by panickedfish
Summary: Shizuo wanders the mostly empty city streets after his bartending shift. He meets Celty and then Izaya, and wonders whether or not he is truly happy.


It was 2 AM and the bar was just closing. Shizuo Heiwajima, who had been working there since 8 PM, was wiping down glasses while his coworkers sent the drunk patrons packing. A few of them mumbled that they still wanted more alcohol, but Shizuo shot them a look over his tinted glasses and they left in a hurry.

_Clearly, I've got a reputation_, the young man thought to himself. He was trying harder to keep his anger in check these days – mostly because Celty told him to be more careful. Shizuo thought about the detective from a couple weeks ago and chuckled to himself. While the incident had been more scary than funny due to his complete loss of self control, Shizuo knew he needed to brush off the experience as nothing. The true danger lay in overanalyzing the incident.

"Shizuo-san, thanks for another great night. The customers really love you," his boss appeared as if from nowhere, clapping a heavy hand on his upper back. Shizuo's eyebrows twitched from the unwelcome familiarity.

He didn't know if those ordering drinks loved him or feared him or felt anything towards him at all. If anything, their fearful respect for Shizuo Heiwajima resulted in a curiosity that lead to stalking him, which, in turn, led them to his bar. Either way, his manager seemed to appreciate the extra business.

Shizuo owed his boss nothing. He needed this job for the money and that was all. He would deal with all the minor annoyances and things he didn't like about the job as long as he got a paycheque at the end of the day. Coincidently, today there was a cheque waiting for him in the back office. Shizuo took his before leaving. He folded it twice and put it in his pocket.

Once he had left the interior of the smoky, stuffy bar, Shizuo's mood instantly improved. Ikebukuro never truly slept and it appeared that the nightlife was still in full swing. Shizuo walked past nightclubs with music blaring, under fluorescent signs, and crossed the city streets that were much less busy than at rush hour, but were nowhere near empty. He watched traffic lights change and the impatient expressions of people who shouldered past him. The ones walking all alone looked pissed off, while groups of girls moved in packs, laughing about their plans for the night. Most people on the sidewalks were in various states of intoxication. Shizuo reached into his pocket for his smokes and paused to light one. He continued walking.

When he crossed at the lights through a busy intersection, his eyes locked on to a poster of a good-looking young man with brown hair. Of course it was his brother. Shizuo recognized some of his own features – same chin, same eyes – and stomped towards the nearest vending machine. He yelled and grasped the machine in his arms but then stopped short for an instant. Onlookers were curious. Maybe they recognized him? His white rage vanished a moment later. Shizuo stepped away from the machine. To ease the witnesses of the Strongest Man in Ikebukuro, he rummaged through his pockets for some loose change and put it in the vending machine. He stabbed a button with his middle finger and out rolled a can. He popped the tab and drank as he walked. Gradually, he outpaced the stares of curious residents.

As he passed through a park, he remembered the incident with the detective looking for answers about Saika. He remembered beating the shit out of that poor oblivious guy. Maybe if he hadn't been pushed too hard for answers… Shizuo looked down at the beer can in his hand and realized that he had crushed it. The weak aluminum had been warped into crumpled, disjointed angles. Shizuo tossed it over his shoulder carelessly but didn't hear it hit the ground. He turned around, his hands in his pockets.

Celty stood facing him. She had the empty beer can in his hand as she typed into her phone.

_You really shouldn't litter. It's bad for the environment._

Shizuo shrugged and kept walking. He felt her serpentine shadow touch the back of his shoulder. Then Celty's phone was thrust under his nose.

_Want to talk about it?_

"No, not really." The Dullahan already knew that he was an angry man.

Celty walked to the road that ran adjacent to the park. She threw out Shizuo's beer can and straddled her black motorcycle. This city block was deserted this time of night and so there was no one to see these two urban legends intersect. Shizuo walked towards Celty. She extended a helmet towards him. With a sigh, Shizuo put it on and jumped onto the back of the motorcycle. Celty raced off into the night, apparently without a clear destination in mind. They zoomed around the streets of downtown and then Celty moved on to the suburbs. Here there were no cars to avoid and no pedestrians were awake this late at night to see them drive by, Shizuo leaned with Celty into every turn, ignoring red stop signs and streetlights.

Shizuo thought of Celty's original home, in Ireland. There, the Dullahan had wide open spaces which she could roam on horseback. Here, in the neighborhood of Ikebukuro, these residential streets were as close and she could get to capturing that same sense of freedom. Shizuo wanted to ask her why she wouldn't go back… what kept Celty here now that she knew her head was attached to that schoolgirl? He realized the answer to that question an instant later and could have kicked himself. Clearly, her love for Shinra kept Celty here. If she had a face that wasn't just black smoke, Shizou imagined that she'd be smiling. Celty was content to be with Shinra and wouldn't have it any other way.

Their early morning journey came to an end and Celty drove slowly back to town. She dropped Shizuo off at the same park that they had left from about an hour ago. Shizuo dismounted the bike and smiled at his friend. He enjoyed riding around with Celty. She had a calming effect on him and their time together just seemed to fly by.

_Will you be OK?_

Shizuo nodded. He had left out the details of his bad mood, but driving around with Celty had improved the situation.

"Thank you," he said.

Celty bowed slightly, climbed back onto her motorcycle, and sped off into the open arms of the night. The darkness swallowed her up in an instant, muffling even the sounds of her motorcycle's engine. She was probably going home to Shinra, Shizuo realized. He lit another cigarette and continued walking in the general direction of his house. He wasn't alone for long. He heard the click of a pocketknife being opened and reflexively bit his cigarette in half. He turned, his hands clenched into fists.

"Izaya-kun."

"Shizuo-chan." The information dealer smirked, carelessly pointing his knife in Shizuo;s direction. In the corner of his eye, Shizuo saw a parking meter. He stepped towards it, ready to yank it out of the pavement if the situation got out of hand.

"Why are you always here? Don't you have anything better to do than follow me?"

Izaya shrugged. "I was in the neighborhood on business and saw you with the Black Rider. So I waited. It's been almost a week since our last altercation; don't say you didn't miss me."

"If I never see you again, it will be too soon," Shizuo muttered. He didn't like the way that Izaya referred to Celty using Ikebukuro's collective name for the urban legend instead of her actual name, but he really didn't feel like fighting. A couple of nights ago he had thrown – literally thrown – out a rowdy drunk customer who had been relentlessly hitting on the female patrons. The two hundred pound guy had ended up in the next intersection and Shizuo's shoulder hadn't been the same since the incident. Izaya simply wasn't worth the extra strain on his body.

Shizuo lit another cigarette to replace the one he had bit in half and started walking away. He heard footsteps behind him but didn't turn around for a couple of city blocks. When he finally did, Izaya was gone. Shizuo was alone.

"I hate violence," he muttered. He encounter with Izaya had rattled him, maybe because they hadn't actually brawled this time. Shizuo supposed that the next time they met, Izaya would more than make up for walking away this time. Shizuo would be ready.

Shizuo glanced down at his watch. Close to 4 AM. Surely there must be a bar around here somewhere that closed at 5. Shizuo set off to find it, in need of a strong drink.


End file.
